With Hurricane Ophelia still fresh in the mind, and with the recent experience of Storm Emma, it is clear to us all that severe weather events such as windstorms can have a huge impact on our lives. The ability to forecast such events and to have some indications of future trends in frequency and intensity, is vital. The success of Met Éireann in forecasting the events over the last year gives confidence that Ireland is on the right track to achieve that goal.

Under the title "The Wind that Shakes the Island", the Conference focused on the challenges of forecasting significant events (with Hurricane Ophelia as the prime example}. It featured speakers Evelyn Cusack and Liz Walsh, both key members of the Met Éireann forecast team that dealt so well with the major events. International cooperation is a vital feature of meteorological forecasting and this was represented in the Conference by our guest speaker, Dr. Mike Brennan of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami and by Professor Len Shaffrey of Reading University who added a research element to the programme.

The Conference was held in cooperation with Met Éireann and with the kind assistance of the RDS and generously supported by the EPA.